Tag: U-Pass

Green Bay Metro has adjusted the route of the No. 7 (Lime Line) bus so that it will arrive a little earlier at the Circle Entrance in front of the UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library. Effective today, during workday hours, buses will now pull up to their first campus stop at about 10 and 40 minutes after the hour. (That’s up to five minutes earlier than the old schedule.) Green Bay Metro shortened the route to campus by having our bus leave the Transit Center and head straight down University Avenue instead of making the Webster-Walnut-East High-Baird-Main-Morrow-Elizabeth swing. This change makes time available for an additional stop — at the new Veterans Administration Clinic — on the return trip.

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Swipe your ID card, ride at no additional cost: It’s called U-Pass. The University and its students provide a modest annual subsidy to Green Bay Metro in exchange for free rides (more accurately: no-additional-cost rides) for UW-Green Bay students, faculty and staff. Be green, be thrifty, and give it a try.

Those in possession of UW-Green Bay ID cards can still ride for free and board any city bus with a swipe of their card, thanks to the ongoing U-Pass deal. Those riding Green Bay Metro on Wednesday (Jan. 2), however, witnessed something new with a move to simplify ridership via the launch of an unlimited daily pass. The daily pass ($3 per adult, $2 students and $1.50 for seniors and those with disabilities) replaces the old paper transfer-ticket system. Monthly and weekly passes are still available, of course, and riders can still pay the single fare ($1.50, $1 or 75 cents) if they need to get from Point A to Point B with no transfer or return trip. If you know a potential rider without a UWGB ID who might be interested, more details are available.

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Never heard of U-Pass? Click here: The University and its students provide a modest annual subsidy to Green Bay Metro in exchange for free rides (more accurately: no-additional-cost rides) for UW-Green Bay students, faculty and staff. See an overview of the program.

It’s nothing fancy, but it does the job: A couple of seating benches, a roof over your head, a break from the winter winds and a-free-with-your-campus-ID means of transportation.

UW-Green Bay students who ride Green Bay Metro were recently pleased to see the installation of a new city bus shelter on North Circle Drive at the Residence Life complex, just in time for the cool weather. Attention to new or upgraded shelters has been one of the priorities as the metropolitan transit service explores way to encourage more ridership.

Student, faculty and staff member with a University ID ride the bus at no additional, out-of-pocket expense thanks to a University contract with Green Bay Metro. The bus system bills back based on actual ridership as tracked through the scanned IDs, and at a discount rate to encourage more passengers. The University, in turn, funds the program as a green, cost-effective transportation option. The subsidy, expected to be in excess of $10,000 for the 2011-12 fiscal year, is made possible by revenue from the sale of campus parking permits, and by student leaders delegating a portion of their activity fees toward unlimited use of city bus services.

The main UW-Green Bay bus stop is located at the Main Entrance to the Cofrin Library’s lower level. (A bus arrives and departs every 30 minutes during the workday, at roughly 15 minutes and again at 45 minutes after the hour. Just self-scan your ID card, and hop aboard.) The bus reaches the North Circle Drive bus stop a few minutes later.

We brought you the news last month of the freshly inked U-Pass deal between UW-Green Bay and Green Bay Metro. The national transit publication Metro Magazine recently picked up the story, highlighting the new deal that more directly ties chargeback rates to rides taken. Check out the story.

We brought you the news earlier this week that UW-Green Bay and Green Bay Metro have signed a revised U-Pass agreement for 2011-12. The Green Bay Press-Gazette has followed the recent changes Metro has made, including the new U-Pass agreement that lets anyone with a University ID ride the bus at no out-of-pocket cost. Under the old system, Metro received an annual $35,000 lump-sum payment — underwritten by student fees and parking fees — whereas the new agreement involves a 25-cent per ride chargeback, billed quarterly. There was a brief follow-up to an earlier story in Thursday’s (July 21) newspaper: click here.

UW-Green Bay and Green Bay Metro have signed a revised U-Pass agreement that more directly ties the cost of service to the number of rides taken. Under the old system, Metro received an annual $35,000 lump-sum payment — underwritten by student fees and parking fees — in exchange for unlimited bus rides for students, faculty and staff. Now, the chargeback will become 25 cents per ride, billed quarterly, which still will allow anyone with a valid University ID to ride at no additional cost. Talks are in the works to further enhance the campus-transit relationship, including consideration of a direct Saturday route for high-volume student locations (such as grocery stores). Check out the full details.

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and Green Bay Metro recently signed a revised busing agreement that will continue their mutually beneficial partnership while more directly tying the cost of service to the number of rides taken.

The new U-Pass contract does away with the former agreement, under which a $35,000 annual lump-sum payment — underwritten by student fees and a portion of University parking fees — was paid to Metro in exchange for unlimited bus rides for students, faculty and staff.

Under the new arrangement, the chargeback becomes 25 cents per ride, billed quarterly, which still will allow University ID-holders to ride at no additional charge — and also offer a more precise way for UW-Green Bay to pay for the service, said Tom Wittig, general manager for Green Bay Metro. The change, approved at the July meeting of the Green Bay Transit Commission, is a key element of what Wittig says is an ongoing and important relationship between the campus and transit.

“It’s very important because public transportation is a vital ingredient for college students,” Wittig said. “It gives them the independence to travel throughout the Green Bay area, whether they have a car or not.”

The agreement is part of an ongoing effort to encourage bus ridership among students, faculty and staff, emphasizing the convenience and cost and environmental benefits of taking the bus. Since its inception in 2008, U-Pass has continued thanks to a cooperative effort of University officials, the UWGB Student Government Association and Green Bay Metro.

“The U-Pass agreement certainly benefits the environment through taking some single-occupancy vehicles off the road, with an additional benefit of saving money by not gassing up the car as frequently,” said Laurie Case, sustainability and strategic planning coordinator at UWGB. “We’ll continue to depend on Metro as a cornerstone in our ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the campus community.”

The new U-Pass agreement is one of several changes recently unveiled by Metro, which has started adding no-cost Saturday rides for all bus patrons amid plans for a west-side route restructuring intended to make transportation easier and more efficient. In addition, UWGB will hold discussions with Metro to consider a direct Saturday route for high-volume student locations, such as grocery stores, said Riley Evan Peterson, UW-Green Bay Student Government Association president. The SGA and UWGB Public Safety’s parking operations will continue to split the cost for the U-Pass agreement, which could be about half of what it was under the former funding system.

In addition, Metro hopes to have a presence at various campus events during the school year, Wittig said, encouraging students to explore the transit system. The University Union also will play a role, marketing the effort to students as part of an overall focus on sustainability.

“Practicing sustainable efforts will come easy to students with the help of the Green Bay Metro agreement,” said Kelly Kramp, manager of programs, promotions and marketing for the Union. “The University Union looks forward to helping educate the students on their U-Pass.”